1970s baseball pinbacks

[thansen30]

i just picked up Billy Williams on ebay. i also have many Red Sox, and Vida Blue is the only A's example I have. i will now obsess over the Clemente. Thanks for that!
The mystery Cub is apparently Jose Ortiz, who played 36 games for the Cubs in 1971. That clearly dates the pin, since Ortiz was in the White Sox system in 1970

[dwr11]

I found this photo of the Clemente pin. It's a small picture but it's proof that it does exist.

[thansen30]

wow. thats awesome. looks like the other one is a senator, so maybe they did do all the teams. that's what i'm trying to figure out
i just found the clemente pin on Legendary Auctions site from October 2007. it went for $385 with premium. i troll ebay for these all the time, but they appear to be very scarce

[dwr11]

I would love to find any Minnesota Twins players from this set. I have collected Twins player buttons for quite a few years and I have never seen any Twins players from this series but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

[thansen30]

btw that Senators pin is Denny McLain. where'd you find the image?

[ooo-ribay]

I'm new today and don't know the etiquette of bumping 2 1/2 year old threads but I just asked about these pins in my second post. Perhaps someone knows something new from 2011? This is a strange bunch of pins without much rhyme or reason....

[thansen30]

ooo-ribay I've been searching for these pins for years. All i know for certain is they were unlicensed and sold outside the ballparks in 1971. I bought the Joe Pepitone Cubs pin on the street outside Wrigley Field from a vendor that year.
The Brewers displayed a "complete set of 10" at their fanfest a few years ago, confirming the year. I have pins from Cubs, A's, Giants, Redsox, Brewers, Pirates, Senators and Orioles, with multiple samples from Cubs, Redsox and Brewers. None of the pin "experts" know anything about them. There is no checklist (or anyone else who collects them, evidently!) Since the photography is so stunning, I thought Ozzie Sweet might have shot them, but his estate told me a few years ago that is unlikely. Paul Muchinsky lists only one--Dave Bristol of the Brewers--in his book about pinbacks, with no other details. They are a true mystery!

[ooo-ribay]

Originally Posted by thansen30

The mystery Cub is apparently Jose Ortiz, who played 36 games for the Cubs in 1971. That clearly dates the pin, since Ortiz was in the White Sox system in 1970

I would agree, these HAVE to be from 1971...of the 39 pins mentioned or shown, all the players are in the "right" uniform for 1971.

[icollectDCsports]

Originally Posted by ooo-ribay

I would agree, these HAVE to be from 1971...of the 39 pins mentioned or shown, all the players are in the "right" uniform for 1971.

The McLain with the Senators also must be from 1971.

[Big Red Machine]

I picked up a Johnny Bench photo version of the button years ago. It appears to be vintage. I'm not sure if these photos were made available to the players to respond to fan letters.

I've been looking for the Johnny Bench button. Let me know if anyone has one for sale.

Phil

[ksfarmboy]

Great photo Big Red. Would love to find the Orioles player versions.

[icollectDCsports]

Always good to see more info and examples added to this thread. Wish we could get to the bottom of who took the photos and who produced the pinback buttons.

[71buc]

[thansen30]

these were posted elsewhere on the forum just aggregating them here--have not seen the Palmer before.
and another example of the larger photos, as seen over Vera Clemente's shoulder.
Recently contacted the Baseball Hall of Fame and Sports Collectors Daily for examples or info, but both sources said they weren't familiar with the pins. search goes on

[Chris Counts]

I somehow missed this thread during its first eight years, but I discovered it about two weeks ago. After reading it, I decided I needed one of these beauties for my completely unfocused collection, so I dove into eBay to see what I could find. I really have no idea what they are worth. My search (I tried many keywords) turned up only two of them, an Ernie Banks for $250 and a Vida Blue for $30. Since Vida was one of my boyhood favorites, the choice was easy.

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by Chris Counts

I somehow missed this thread during its first eight years, but I discovered it about two weeks ago. After reading it, I decided I needed one of these beauties for my completely unfocused collection, so I dove into eBay to see what I could find. I really have no idea what they are worth. My search (I tried many keywords) turned up only two of them, an Ernie Banks for $250 and a Vida Blue for $30. Since Vida was one of my boyhood favorites, the choice was easy.

Hi Chris,
Here is your boy, Vida Blue in 2019. I liked him as well, BTW
A friend of mine just did a private signing with him a couple of months ago.

[ooo-ribay]

Originally Posted by Chris Counts

I somehow missed this thread during its first eight years, but I discovered it about two weeks ago. After reading it, I decided I needed one of these beauties for my completely unfocused collection, so I dove into eBay to see what I could find. I really have no idea what they are worth. My search (I tried many keywords) turned up only two of them, an Ernie Banks for $250 and a Vida Blue for $30. Since Vida was one of my boyhood favorites, the choice was easy.

Don't know if the Banks price is out of line. Mays is rare and expensive, as well. Here's the three Mays:

[Chstrite]

Email me at charles.strite@yahoo.com

Happy to negotiate a deal for those 1970s Pins of Frank and Boog!

[71buc]

The Clemente Museum recently confirmed the Clemente negative I purchased recently is an original from the same photo session where the image used for the button was taken. Their photographers recently used it to make this image. Obviously it differs slightly from the picture used for the Clemente pin nonetheless it’s a striking image I thought others would like to see. They printed a 17X22 print for me.